1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a cargo securing system for a vehicle cargo bed and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for securing cargo in a pickup truck bed liner cargo area with a slidable tie-down device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicles that include cargo areas, such as vans and pickup trucks, have achieved great popularity. Pickup trucks typically have a cargo bed with a substantially rectangular horizontal floor frequently between four and six feet wide and six and ten feet long, and with vertical sides between one and three feet high. Typically, stationary walls form the front and two adjacent sides, and a removable or hinged tailgate forms the remaining rear side and provides access to the bed floor for cargo loading and unloading. The trucks are thus particularly suited to carry any article of most any size, even approximating the bed size.
A pickup truck may include a device for dividing the cargo bed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,682 discloses a bed liner divider system that divides a pickup truck cargo area into multiple sections. The system includes a pair of slotted brackets that attach to the pickup truck bed side walls using conventional fastening techniques. The brackets are mounted on the side walls, so that the slots are aligned vertically. A divider wall is inserted into the slots to form the separate sections of the pickup truck cargo area.
Vans may also include devices for dividing the cargo area. U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,479 discloses a van cargo area divider that includes a beam member and a pair of track members. The track members are slider mechanisms that insert into channels that form a pair of integral tracks within the van cargo area floor. Each slider mechanism attaches to an end cap positioned at opposite ends of the beam member. The beam member divides the cargo area into multiple sections.
Pickup truck bed floors are typically smooth and flat, so that any carried article(s) smaller than the cargo bed itself can slide about on the bed floor under the dynamic forces created when the truck is being driven. The cargo bed will typically include a bed liner that has one or more surfaces with a higher coefficient of friction.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,980 discloses a plastic vehicle bed liner for use in a cargo bed. The bed liner includes a relatively rigid body having a bottom wall member for frictionally engaging the vehicle cargo bed. A pair of side wall members and a front wall member project upwardly from the bottom wall member. Each wall member includes a wear inhibiting area covering at least a portion of the wall member outer surface for engaging a corresponding member of the vehicle cargo bed.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 302,143 discloses an ornamental design for a vehicle cargo space bed liner. The bed liner includes a plurality of shallow walls lengthwise along the base of the bed liner.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0149223 discloses a knock-down, multi-component bed liner. The bed liner includes five sections, a front panel assembly, a left side assembly, a right side assembly, a center bottom panel, and a tailgate panel. The left side assembly and the right side assembly attach to the bottom panel to form the bed liner floor. The assemblies are attached to one another by strips or flanges that receive conventional fasteners that are inserted into a plurality of spaced-apart openings or apertures.
While plastic bed liners for the cargo bed typically provide greater friction against the carried article(s), the bed liners do not always prevent a carried article(s) from sliding around in the bed. A sliding article could fall from the truck, or could smash against the cargo bed sides to cause damage to the truck or itself and/or create instability in the driving characteristics of the truck. Thus, it is desirable and common when easily possible to secure the carried article(s) relative to the bed.
One common way of securing these carried article(s) relative to the cargo bed includes the use of a cargo securing system. U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,764 discloses a metal cargo securing system having a crossbar member attached to a beam member. The beam member includes ends that are adapted to slide within a pair of U-shaped channel tracks that are mounted on the bed walls of the pickup truck bed.
Cargo securing systems may include one or more fastener assemblies. U.S. Pat. No. 6,827,531 discloses a slidable, retainable fastener assembly for attaching to a track that is mounted to or near a truck bed. The fastener assembly includes an anchor portion and a bottom portion. The anchor portion includes one or more eyelets, hooks, rings, carabiners, clamps, clasps, or other suitable tie-down members. The bottom portion slides within the track slot. The bottom portion includes a retainer that engages a pair of opposing extension positioned on the track upper, open portion. The retainer includes a pair of upper surfaces specially contoured to conform to the ribs and abscesses on each extension.
Other cargo securing systems utilize tracks that are integral with the cargo bed floor. U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,568 discloses a cargo bed having a pair of integral tracks within the cargo bed floor and a tie-down system that uses the integral tracks. The tracks include channels that essentially extending lengthwise along the cargo bed base. The channels receive fittings that facilitate the attachment of various objects to the cargo bed. Unfortunately, the cargo securing system cannot be used with a truck bed liner that covers the entire cargo bed floor.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,270 discloses a cargo clamp system that can be used with a truck bed liner that covers the entire cargo bed floor. The bed liner includes a plurality of corrugations that define a plurality of troughs extending lengthwise along the bed liner base. The clamp system includes a pair of jaws that attach the clamp system to the bed liner. Unfortunately, the existing cargo clamp system must be used with a bedliner that includes corrugations. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved cargo securing system that can be used with corrugated or non-corrugated bed liners.